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| Santa Cruz de La Palma | |
| Map | |
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| Statistics | |
| Autonomous region: | Canary Islands |
| Province: | Santa Cruz de Tenerife |
| Island: | La Palma |
| Area: | 43.38 km² (30.82 km² in 2003) |
| Population: | 17,857 (2001) |
| Population density: | 411.64/km² |
| Length of coastline | 4.03 km |
| Elevation: Lowest: Centre: Highest: |
Atlantic Ocean 4 m |
| Subdivisions: | 9 neighborhoods 5 settlements |
| Postal code: | E-38700 |
| Location: | 28.6833/28°41' N lat. 17.7667/17°46' W long. |
| Municipal code: | E-38037 |
| Car designation: | TF |
| Politics | |
| Mayor: | Juan Ramón Felipe San Antonio (CC) 1st term (2005) |
Santa Cruz de la Palma (Spanish for the Holy Cross) is located on the eastern part of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz de la Palma is the second largest city (after Los Llanos de Aridane) and is the capital of the island. Santa Cruz de La Palma is linked with a main highway encircling every part of the island and is located north of the La Palma Airport. It is located along an old lava flow coming out from the Caldereta (small caldera) a volcano located just south of the city.
The population is 17,265 (2001 census), its population density is 398/km² and the area is 43.38 km². The highest elevation is 300 m at San Pedro. Breña Baja offers a panoramic view of La Gomera to the southeast.
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Subdivisions
- City neighborhoods:
- La Luz
- San Telmo
- San Sebastián
- El Puente
- Benahoare
- La Alameda
- La Calle Real
- El Pilar
- El Marquito
- Settlements:
- Velhoco
- Las Nieves
- La Dehesa
- La Encarnación
- El Planton
- El Carmen
- Mirca
History
The city was founded by Alonso Fernández de Lugo on May 3, 1493. It was located between a river which is situated by a cave named Tedote (now Cueva de Carías, located north of the city). The city, originally called Villa del Apurón, served as a port that connected routes to the Americas, exporting goods from the island such as sugarcane. The city was sacked by pirates and was later reconstructed and fortified against future pirate attacks. Famous fortifications include the Castillo de Santa Catalina and Castillo de la Virgen. The economic crisis that affected the agriculture sector brought the greatest loss of population in the city's history, which limited its expansion and caused the population to stabilize and drop to 11,000. The population did not approach its original 18,000 again for the next hundred years.
Information
The coastline and the valley areas were made up of farmlands, the remaining are around Santa Cruz de la Palma and the east central core are made up of urban areas especially hotels, apartments, towers and colorful homes uphill northwest. Santa Cruz de la Palma has a port serving ferry routes to the nearest large Iberian port Cádiz in Spain as well as Los Cristianos (Tenerife), Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Arrecife and do not serve Fuerteventura or El Hierro and is the only major port in the island.
Historical population
| Year | Population | Change | Density |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late-1800s | around 18,000 | - | - |
| 1900 | 11,000 | - | - |
| 1991 | 17,205 | - | - |
| 1996 | 17,265 | - | - |
| 2001 | 17,265 | - | 401.51/km² |
| 2002 | 18,228 | - | - |
| 2003 | 18,201 | - | 216.26/km² |
| 2004 | 17,857 | - | 399.40/km² |
The 1996 population plunged slowly and from 1996 to 2001 read unchanged but boomed again but a little faster but from the 2002 to the 2004 census, the population slightly fell.
Other
Santa Cruz de La Palma has schools, a few lyceums, a gymnasium, churches, a small beach, a small port, a post office and a few squares plazas.
Notable Natives & Residents
- Manolo Blahnik, world-famous shoemaker
Gallery
 The neighborhood of San Telmo |
 Church of Santo Domingo, Santa Cruz de la Palma. Built on foundations of hermitage of San Miguel founded by Fernández de Lugo. Saint Michael is the patron saint of Flanders, where many colonists were from. |
External links
- Official website (Spanish)
- Map and aerial photos
- Street map: Street map from Mapquest, MapPoint or Google
- Satellite images: Google
- Coordinates:
See also
| North: Puntallana | ||
| West: El Paso | Santa Cruz de la Palma | East: Atlantic Ocean |
| South: Breña Alta |
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